TABLE OF CONTENTS

SPIS TREŚCI

Publikacja “Kultura i Edukacja” w języku angielskim, udostępnienie wersji cyfrowej w wolnym dostępie i zabezpieczenie oryginalności publikacji zgodne ze standardem COPE – zadania finansowane w ramach umowy 853/P-DUNdem/2018 ze środków Ministra Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego przeznaczonych na działalność upowszechniającą naukę.

The author aims at answering the question: “What activities do the authorities undertake to manage the multiculturalism of the city-state which is situated at the intersection of three cultural spheres (the Chinese, Indian and Islamic) and which constitutes a unique mosaic of religions, denominations, beliefs, ideologies, ethnic and language groups? To what extent do the undertakings of state authorities affect social behaviour of citizens and their mentality?”. Using the document analysis (especially of legal acts), the author discusses: demographical issues, with special regard to the policy of positive discrimination towards autochthonous population of Singapore – Malayans; religious pluralism and secularity of the state which promotes religious harmony; some examples of reactions of the society and officials to the attitudes and statements posing threat to religious harmony; the linguistic policy called multilingualism (with special focus on the role of Singlish – the language which is becoming an attribute of the Singapore identity); the values which school implants in learners so that they could live together and build inclusive society. The author concludes that – in the conditions of Singapore – multiculturalism is becoming a socially functional phenomenon, which enhances the construction of inclusive society and its successful economic, social and cultural development. In the face of the European crisis of multiculturalism, the author encourages researchers to pay more attention to the positive experiences of the countries which do not belong to the European cultural circles.

A man functions in a given area and significant places. The area, on one hand, reflects the way of thinking about the world, and on the other it expresses social life in its arrangement, at the same time serving as a mean to reproduce social relations. Thus, a man who utilises it and creates it is the one that enters it on basis of various types of relations. It can take shape of cultural space perceived as physical realm that carries cultural reality (a set of significances and signs). A cultural space understood like that entails the category of space, which (as a place of significance with its historicalness and rationality) plays key part on the process of shaping one’s identity. The culture of place at the same time fulfils unifying, directing and standardizing function of the social relations. Given the multicultural character of the place interculturalism is crucial, and within its framework the cross-cultural potential of individuals shaping intercultural space in a culturally diverse local setting. A man enters relations with the place whereas the place creates an area of mutual coexistence with the man. The Vilnius region is a place significant for its inhabitants, as it constitutes a cultural community located in the cultural borderland. The factors that condition it entail common cultural legacy, localness, interaction and sense of familiarity. They are accompanied by the skills of recognizing cultural legacy, followed by interactional competences and multi-dimensional growth. Cognition and understanding therefore shall be considered as the key elements of establishing a community at the meeting points of cultures, i.e. intercultural area. They should be favoured by actions undertaken in the local environment, by the mean of, for instance, folk art, folk culture, that both provide with cultural, educational and pedagogical functions.

Globalization processes stimulate the emerging of new cultural borderlands including, among many others, cyberspace and global cites. They create complex socio-cultural spaces of participation which can be described in the categories of diversity, instability, hybridity and creolization as well as multiple forms, ways, contents and institutions of socialization. The aforementioned changes impact the perception of the “place” category, the contemporary meaning, includes not only the physical space but also its history and cultural traditions. They also create new challenges and conditions for the processes of identity forming. Identification with the culturally diverse milieu can support development of the culture borderland identity. In certain conditions there can also be created a culturally uprooted protean identity or be neo-tribal identity of a bulwark defender. The above – mentioned processes and phenomena challenge contemporary education by creating new chances as well as jeopardizing socialization of youth.

The author presents activities of intercultural education that support the development of the identity of a modern man functioning in the conditions of multiculturalism. He analyzes three areas of intercultural education. The first, associated with the acceptance and giving meaning to inherited culture. The second one, focused on the development of individual identity, shaping the sense of freedom and responsibility for self-development in the process of learning about one’s culture and other cultures. The third is about shaping attitudes towards representatives of other cultures, awareness of universal values and acquiring dialogic skills in the numerous offers of the global world.

Communicating as a process requires referring to the space of social communication, which I understand as the assumptions of the sense of communication symbols. Hybridity as a phenomenon in culture is on one hand a social fact, the effect of globalization processes, on the other it becomes a challenge in the process of educational narrative. Maintaining continuity and cohesion in culture in the face of the problem of hybridity and building communication capable of taking up this challenge seems to be an important consideration also (and perhaps above all) in the field of pedagogy. Multiculturalism as an idea, if it were to become a social principle, requires a debate of competent interlocutors. Hence the need to reflect on the communicative competence of the units of the multiculturalism standard.

The article concerns an important aspect of the sociocultural identity which is the self-identification of an individual as a member of the community. The author stress es the importance of the profile description of an individual’s sociocultural identity. He emphasizes the need of joint analysis of the four most important areas of macrocultural identification: euro_global, national, religious and regional. The text is concluded with a methodological proposal for the diagnosis of an individual’s sociocultural identification profile.

Contemporary neoliberal reality with clear and unambiguous rules of actions imposes tough social inter-dependences and obligations. At the same time, commonly present mainstream tendency to weaken interpersonal relations, to doubt in senses and meanings, and to accept each behaviour without the possibility to formulate personal attitude towards it, has led to total mess in human life. An unbalanced man hardly manages to exist in all devastated dimensions of his world: social, cultural, environmental and economical. The need to turn back and to reach the sustainable level of life becomes more and more clear. The route to sustainability needs ambitious, common and responsible education. The Decade of Education for Sustainable Development was the first global project. Now we should undertake activities presented in Global Action Plan. To make that immense plan become real we need properly and thoroughly prepared school teachers and academics. Pre-service and in-service teacher development becomes a global issue. Contemporary vocational obligations and expectations formulated towards that group of professionals considerably inhibit the process of change. That is why, the diagnosis of global pedeutological problems and tendencies is one of the most important steps for preparing a better plan to work with Polish teachers. The paper presents possible ways to work with students – future teachers – to develop sustainable awareness and attitudes, derived from proper knowledge and skills. Project X is one of the most interesting and inspiring educational tools. Basing on Polish primary and secondary curriculum, students of the University of Lodz learn how to think in sustainable manner, and how to join knowledge and skills from various schools subjects to build a holistic educational message.

The article presents the concept of community as a sociological category, there are various ways to define it, the importance of sentiment, moral order, identification and contact in its meaning is emphasized. A learning community is identified as a group of people in contact with each other, having a sense of bond, awareness of their own identity and individuality, as well as experiencing mutual support, recognition and belonging. The determinants of the process of shaping such a community in the school are indicated and the focus is on school-related factors. The teacher’s role in creating a school culture conducive to creating a learning community is emphasized. The teacher’s knowledge and skills, his personal characteristics and attitude to life are emphasized, as well as the teacher’s motivation for continuous learning, self-reflection and self-evaluation of everyday practice. As a result of the analysis, it is found that the creation of a learning community at school is fostered by the culture of cooperation, dialogue and creativity, and at the same time this type of organizational culture can be influenced by the learning community.

The undertaken study is aimed at presenting the knowledge and research experiences concerning developmental tasks and the borderland, as well as stimulating the discussion which might result in a more conscious approach and application of these categories in the context of pedagogy. The author presents a report from some studies conducted in the Southern borderland. The text becomes a part of the debate on the tasks of pedagogy – the education aimed at supporting the development of youth. The research into fulfilling developmental tasks, shaping youth’s identity and its many determinants constitute an important field of pedagogy. These studies enable the recognition of the real barriers for individual development in the social and cultural dimension, as well as the efficient or inefficient strategies of overcoming them.